Nassau County Emergency Management is in need of volunteers for Shelter Operations training.
We are working with the Red Cross to provide training to enable volunteers to assist with shelter operations during an incident which requires evacuating areas of Nassau County.
This training will be held on Friday, June 9th at the Emergency Operations Center, with the first session held at 10am and the second at 6pm. Only one session needs to be attended. Each session will be approximately 2 hours in length.
Some of the work assigned to volunteers just requires a little training: getting tables in place for registration areas and cots set up in the dormitory, posting signs that direct people to and around the shelter, unloading supplies, keeping a table stocked with snacks and bottled water, helping people get their meals, and handing out necessities like blankets and toiletry supplies.
Other work requires quick judgment calls: someone with special needs – emotional or physical – signs in at the shelter, someone has a special dietary request, or residents show up with unusual pets. Sometimes the volunteer just has to know when to alert the shelter manager. Other times, volunteers need to know the details of policies and procedures, supplemented by a strong dose of common sense and compassion.
Emotionally speaking, the people staying in a shelter may be traumatized by damage to their homes and other loss and anxiety they may experience, like being separated from their family or a pet. Volunteers can help reduce the stress level just by being there or listening.
In addition to care provided to individuals displaced by disasters, volunteers often find that the experience has an impact on their own lives as well.
Volunteering can be an incredible experience – you get back more than you give.
